Bicycle



BICYCLE.

vN0. 351,972. Patented Nov. 2, 1886.

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J. GIBB'ONS & C, D. MENEELY.

BICYCLE; r 1 110.351.972. Patented Nov; 2, 1886.

Fly 2 v F 2/ I ["1- 3 a 5" I o UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GIBBONS, OF WEST TROY, AND CHARLES 1). MENEELY, on ALBANY,

ASSIGNORS TO'THE MENEELY HARDWARE COMPANY, OF WEST TROY,

NEW YORK.

BICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'351,972, dated November 2, 1886. Application filed J uly 23, 1885. Serial No. 172,393. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN GIBBONS, of the village of West Troy, county of Albany, State of New York, and CHARLES D. MENEELY, of

5 the city of Albany, county and State aforesaid, have joinlyinventednew and useful Improvements in Bicycles, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to bicycles, and more [0 particularly to that class of them which are made with twowheels of equal size, that are placed side by side, with the riders seat arranged between them and below the axle j ournals, the principal objects of our invention being to check and control the speed of the bicycle as desired, to change the direction of its motion, and to better operate this classof bicycles to obtain a high rate of speed.

Accompanying this specification, to form a part of it, there are two plates of drawings,

containing six figures, illustrating our invention, with the same designation of parts by letter-reference used in all of them.

Of these illustrations, Figure l is a perspective of a bicycle containing our invention and improvements. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section taken through a part of the treadle-crank shaft, a sleeved sprocket-wheel that is arranged to turn on or with said shaft,

. 0 and adapted to engage with a friction-wheel saidcollars which is adjacent to the inner end' of the spiral spring, all the parts shown in this figure being illustrated in a larger representation than at Fig. 1, wherein the same 5 parts are shown in oppositely-arranged duplication in connection with each'end of the treadle-crank shaft. F?" g. 3 shows a side elevation of one of the frirtion-wheels with the rubber cheeks omitted. Fig. 4 shows in a side elevation, and as separated from the axle of the bicycle, one of the treadle-crank-shaft hangers and the connected lever for operating one of the brakes, of which there is one arranged on the hub of each of the bicyclewheels. This view shows also a part of one of the brake-wheels, the lever for operating one of the brakes, showing also the levers for operating the shipper to move one of the 7 sprocket-wheels away from itsengagement with the adjacent one of the friction-wheels. This figure shows also in elevation'a part of the rim of one of the friction-wheels, a part of one of the sprocket wheels, the cap of the friction-wheel being shown in section. Fig. 5 shows an elevation of one of the brake-wheels illustrated as separated from the hub. This figure shows also the brake-arm to which the lever connects that operates said brake, said parts being shown with what is their inner face'turned toward the sight. Fig. 6 shows an elevation of one of the sprocket-wheels and the shipper arranged to engage with a groove formed in its hub, this illustration being taken with the hub-face of the sp rocket-wheel turnedtoward the sight.

The several parts of the mechanism thus illustrated are designated by letter-reference and the function of the parts is described as follows:

The letters W W indicate the wheels on which the device moves. These wheels are of the same size and are arranged side by side. They are constructed to turn on the axle A, the latter being dropped down centrally at or .nearly at right angles to the journals to form the seat for the wheelman, the seat being designated at S and the back at B.

Theletters H indicate the hubs of the wheels,

which are made with the sprocket-grooves G,

and'these hubs each have arranged thereon inside of said sprocket-grooves the brake-wheels R, the rims of which are grooved out to receive the brake B The letters D indicate hangers, of which there is one each side of the seat, and these hangers are at their upper ends each attached to the axle, as indicated at m, and therefrom projected downwardly, and attheirlower ends r on the treadle-crank shaft.

each constructed with a bearing, 1), for the treadle-crank shaft '1, the latter being made with the treadles t.

The letters S" indicate sprocket-wheels, of which there is one at each side of the treadles These sprocketwheels are made with the offsethubs h on their inner sides, and the letters g designate a groove formed in revolution on the 'eX- terior of each of said hubs to receive the sprocket wheel shipper N. Each of these sprocket-wheels is made with the sleeved-out part :1 in its hub end, and each of these sprocket-wheels is provided with a chainbelt, O, that connects with one of the sprocket grooves made in the hub of each of the wheels \V. These sprocket-wheels are arranged to turn on the treadle-crank shaft T when they are not in an impressed contact with one of the friction-wheels F. The friction-wheels F are each made with openings 0, that have inwardly-beveled faces to their sides that are adapted to receive the wedge-form cheeks K, prefably made of rubber. The inner ends of these cheeks, where arranged to make friction engagement with one of the sprocket-wheels at the outer side of thelatter, project beyond the bodyof the wheel-bodyb at e,and these cheeks are secured within the wheels F by means of a cap, G, that covers the outer face of said wheel and extends over its rim to be secured thereat. These frictionwvheels are keyed to the treadle-crank shaft, so as to turn with. the latter, as indicated at K". There is one of these frictionwheels and one of these sprocket-wheels at each end of the treadle crank shaft.

The letter S indicates a spiral spring, of which there is one at each side of the treadles, and each of the said springs is constructed to encircle the treadle-crank shaft immediately outside of the bearings of the latter, and so arranged thereat that one end of each spring shall be within the sleeved part of the sprocket-wheel hub to bear against the latter, and the other end of each of the springs to abut against the cap 1;, inclosing the collar M, with the recoil force of each spring adjusted so as to press the sprocket-wheel at each end of the treadlecrank. shaft against the friction-wheel thereat.

The letters R designate brake-wheels. as before described, and L levers, of which there is one at each side of the seat. These levers L are each of them. pivoted to one of the hangers D at p, and at the other end each of these levers is loosely pivoted to the brake-arm a, the latter being connected with the brake B so that when the handle end I of the lever L is pressed down at either side of the seat the brake upon that side is forced up to engage with the brake-wheel to arrest the speed of the bicycle.

The letters L designate another lever at each side of the seat, and each of these lastnamed levers is pivoted to one of the hangers,

D, at 12'. These levers L are at their ends pivoted at p to a lever-bar, Z, and the latter at its lower end to the angular turn lever Z at p, the latter being centrally pivoted at p to an offset, 0, on the hanger D, the lower arm of said angular turn-lever being connected to the shipper N, so that when the leyer L on its handle end 6 is pressed down at either side of the seat, the shipper connected therewith moves out the connected sproeketwheel from its friction engagement with the wheel F, and the sprocket-wheel thusmoved away from its engagement against the force of the spring S, ceases to act on the chain-belt of that one of the wheels with which its chain connects, causing the bicycle to turn and pivot in its turning on the wheel thus arrested. When such a turn has been made, on releasing the lever L" the spring S immediately forces the detained sprocket-wheel to engage with the friction-wheel, and motion is again communicated to the wheel of the bicycle on which the turn has been made.

Each of the levers, L, where pivoted to the lever bars Z is projected upwardly and forked, as shown at 3 Fig. 5, in an enlarged representation, the fork 3 embracing the lower end of the brake-arm a, so that when one of the shippers N is actuated to arrest the rotation of either of the sprocket-wheels as theinner end of said lever L is pressed down to operate the shipper the brake at the same side of the seat is also put on by the upward movement of the bracket end and its engagement with the brake arm a Though the brake at each side may be operated independently of the shipper N, yet the latter cannot be operated without also operating the brake.

The bicycle is moved by the whcelman operating with his feet the treadles, the latter communicating motion to the shaft T by means of the treadle-cranks, and the shaftT to the friction-wheel F, the rubber cheeks K of the latter being held close against the outer face of the sprocket-wheels S by the action of the spring S", so that motion is communicated to the chains 0 by means of said sprocket-wheel, and this motion is transmitted to the wheels \V by means of the sprocket-grooves G in the hubs of the wheels, as before described. When it is desired to arrest the speed of the bicycle, the levers L are pressed down, which brings into action the brakes. W hen it is desired to change the direction of the bicycle, it is done by operating the lever L to put on the brake, and to disconnect one of the sprocket-wheels from the friction-wheel F on that side of the bicycle necessitated to makethe shortest curve in turn- \Vhile we have described the cheeks K as made of rubber, and the function of these cheeks is merely to cause a friction engagement between the inner face of the wheel F,to communicate motion by contact to the adjacent sprocket-wheel, any equivalent material IlO or mechanism that will perform this function in substantially the same manner may be employed. 7

Having thus described our invention, wha we claim, and, desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with the wheelsW W, each made with the groovesG, and the brakewheels R upon the inner ends of their hubs, of the hangers D D, each made with the bearings b the treadlecrank shaft T, made with the treadles t, said treadle-crank shaft having ar ranged thereon at each end outside of said trcadles the sprocket-wheel S friction wheel F, and the spring S the belt-chains O C, the lever L, arranged upon each of said hangers, and the brakes B B", each connected with one of said levers, all constructed and arranged to operate substantially in the manner and for the purposes setforth. y

2. In a bicycle, the combination of the two wheelsWW, of equal size, arranged side by side, and constructedwith sprocket-grooves on the'inner ends of their hubs, the axle A, made with the downcast seat S, the hangers D, made with the bearings b", the treadle-crank shaft T, made with the treadles t, said shaft having arranged thereon at each end outside of the treadles the spring S sprocketwheel S and the friction-wheel F, the belt chains 0' O, the

constructed to turn with the latter, a sprocket-wheel arranged on said treadle-crank shaft to be operated by each of said friction-wheels, a spring arranged on said shaft at each side of said trcadles between the latter and the frictionwheel, and a chain-belt connecting the sprocketgrooves of each of the hubs with one of said sprocket-wheels, substantially as shown and described.

Signed at Troy, New York, this 9th day of .July, 1885, and in the presence of two witnesses, whose names are hereto written.

JOHN GIBBONS. CHARLES D. MENEELY. Witnesses:

CHARLES S. BRINTNALL, GEo; A. DARBY. 

